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00:00Good afternoon everyone, we're here to introduce and offer a warm welcome to Warren Bondo and
00:10Riccardo Sottile.
00:14With these two players, we've looked for players that were already playing in Serie A, that
00:20are familiar with the Italian game, even though they're young players, they've already acquired
00:25experience.
00:27I can also say they've got vast experience of Italian football.
00:33In terms of the quality that Bondo offers, he's got a great engine, he works very hard
00:38on the pitch, he does the dirty work, and these players don't necessarily get a lot
00:46of credit ordinarily for that type of work, but it's crucial for the team ethic, and he's
00:52also very good on the ball.
00:55He's also a young player, he can develop, he's got huge room for improvement.
01:01As for Riccardo Sottile, he's a very direct player, he will provide a lot of energy, he
01:07loves to take on opposition players, he's always seeking out 1v1 situations, he can
01:12play on the left and the right, he scores goals and makes them, same goes for him, he's
01:17a young player, he's got room for improvement, big potential, and our job now is to get them
01:25to develop and make them even stronger, even better players, but they're already very good
01:28players in their own right.
01:29Away you go, guys.
01:31Let's start with questions for Warren and Riccardo, we'll start with Milan TV.
01:36Thanks Nicola, good afternoon Zlatan, good afternoon Riccardo, good afternoon Warren.
01:44I had a question for you.
01:48Riccardo, the feeling is that you've been a Milan fan for a while and you used to love
01:58the Milan star players ever since your childhood, can you talk us through that?
02:02Yes, first and foremost, before I answer your question, I wanted to first and foremost thank
02:08Fiorentina and President Rocco Comiso, Daniele Prade, the sporting director and Raffaele
02:15Palladino, the head coach, for allowing me to move here to Milan, it's a big opportunity
02:21for my career, it's a dream come true being here.
02:23I'd also like to thank AC Milan, the CEO Giorgio Forlani, Zlatan Ibrahimović and Geoffrey
02:29Moncada, all of them for helping me to make this dream come true and for giving me this
02:35opportunity and believing in me.
02:38Ever since I was a kid I grew up watching Milan matches, I had a soft spot for Alessandro
02:46Pato, I really liked Pato, of course as Zlatan I'm not even going to necessarily mention
02:52him because when Zlatan was there as well, Ronaldinho, Pato, it was a Milan side packed
03:02full of world class players, phenomenon and I grew up watching their skill and so I've
03:09been passionate about this team ever since I was a child.
03:11Thanks Riccardo.
03:13Warren, how much did you want to join Milan, how much desire did you have to move to this
03:22club?
03:23Milan are a top side in my opinion and when they contacted me the day before yesterday
03:33I was happy and that's what I was waiting for because Milan are a top club.
03:41Some great players have been through this club, so Alessandro Nesta, my former head
03:46coach that I had, Ronaldinho, Pato, Zlatan too, Tiago Silva, too many players to name,
03:54Clarence Seedorf who I really like as well.
03:58So I'd also want to thank Monza, Adriano Gagliani, he's like a father to me and when the offer
04:07came in from Milan he accepted it immediately, he's like a father to me and Monza also did
04:14a great deal for me as a club, so I'm delighted to be here at Milan.
04:19Well done.
04:22Sky, welcome to both of you, I'll start with Warren.
04:26Did you think that you were fated to join Milan given that your only goal in Serie A
04:32came against Milan at 4-2 win for Monza?
04:38Yes, because four or five years ago I was supposed to move to Milan but when I was playing
04:48in France at Nancy I ultimately didn't come through, I moved to Monza and then between
04:58June and August again the move fell through and the only goal I scored was against Milan.
05:06In January when there are other teams in for me I told my family that I only wanted
05:10to join Milan, I'd either stay at Monza or move to Milan and Milan came in late in the
05:15window and I'm delighted to have moved here.
05:18I'd like to ask Riccardo, when did you find out about Milan's interest, how did you react?
05:24Because you had a positive first half of the season, you played a great deal, you weren't
05:28necessarily a starter for Fiorentina but you were an important player for them, so how
05:32did you react when Milan contacted you and you did almost everything you did to make
05:39sure you got this deal over the line because Zlatan told us the other day that it was 90
05:46seconds before the deadline going through, how much tension and how nervous were you?
05:51It was a very long day, I was at the training ground, I had a training session in the morning
05:59and my agent called me around lunchtime, I didn't answer, he then texted me and said
06:07call me and I said I'll call you later and he said no no call me immediately it's urgent.
06:11As soon as I phoned up Giuseppe Riso he said to me look there's an opportunity to go to
06:15Milan and I was really excited, I was lost for words, I immediately called my father
06:23and I told him about this opportunity, he already knew about it from the morning and
06:27it all happened very quickly right up until the final few minutes of the January transfer
06:32window and I was able to get over the line and join Milan and there was a happy ending.
06:45The transfer window is always unpredictable and very quick so I won't hide the fact that
06:49I was very anxious at home on the sofa with a friend throughout the day waiting for this
06:56famous call to say that the negotiation had gone through successfully and in the end it
07:00went and panned out as I'd hoped for.
07:04Best of luck to both of you, a question for both of you, what do you expect from the second
07:11half of the season with Milan Colors and why have you chosen your respective shirt numbers?
07:24When you're at Milan, a club like this, the expectations are always to win, Milan always
07:29need to win because the history of the club is testament to that, as for me I come here
07:36with a great desire to work hard for the club, for my teammates, the head coach and my goal
07:41over the next few months is to try and prove that I can stay here, I chose number 99 because
07:50it's my year of birth and when the team manager texted me and said to quickly choose my number
07:57he sent me the list and quite naturally I said I wanted to take 99.
08:09I think when you come to Milan you need to win every match and like the Coppa Italia
08:15we're into the semi-finals now, the Champions League, Serie A, you always need to make sure
08:22you go far in the Champions League and our aim is to qualify for the Champions League
08:26again and to try and win trophies.
08:32Why number 38?
08:34Because I had 38 at Monza and that's why I picked the number.
08:43Welcome to both of you, a question for both of you, Riccardo in the first few days you've
08:48only just joined the club, what struck you the most about this new environment, about
08:53this new world, what's the head coach said to you and how excited are you about coming
08:59up against players like Liao Pulisic and Joao Felix in training?
09:04I believe you can play on both flanks can't you?
09:07I've been in awe of everything because when you're on the outside looking in and you hear
09:13about Milan then you step in and you actually realise what a big club it is, everything
09:17struck me from the incredible organisation to the people working inside the club, the
09:25facilities that you have available for you both on and off the pitch, you come to a club
09:31which is packed full of world class players, top footballers and that's important because
09:36when you come here you are vying against more mature, talented players across the board
09:43and that's something I want to do, I want to mature both on and off the pitch.
09:48Have you already spoken to Sergio, the head coach?
09:50I have spoken to the gaffer, I had a very quick chat to him, he asked me how I was physically,
09:56I said I was good and I'm sure I'll have the opportunity to speak to him over the coming
10:01days but I am willing to do whatever he needs from me and he knows, he'll know when to pick
10:06me and where to pick me and I'm ready to play.
10:10As for Warren, I wanted to ask you, Fofana will probably give you a hand, he plays in
10:17the same area of the pitch, have you spoken to him, what has he told you about Milan and
10:21what have you been struck by in the first few days as a Rosso Medi player?
10:28No I haven't yet spoken well to Youssef Fofana but because he's French it's a bit easier
10:34but he's told me there's a good team here, I've come here to help out the team and to
10:40help him out as well and we'll see what the head coach wants me to do.
10:49Tele Lombardia, good afternoon and welcome to both of you, what did Gagliani say to you
10:58on that video call Warren, that was the first phone call you got after you signed your contract
11:03and for Sotil have you spoken to Yassine Adli because he really left his mark, mutual
11:11respect for Adli when he left the club.
11:16I hadn't spoken to Gagliani before that so when Milan made an offer and when he agreed
11:26to let me go I hadn't yet spoken to him so when I'd signed and everything was done and
11:31dusted then I spoke I phoned him outside Casa Milan and I thanked him a great deal
11:37and he also said to me that Milan is his team it's and he wouldn't have let me leave had
11:44it been another team but once Milan came up then he would let me leave and I'm delighted
11:49about that because when I left Casa Milan I saw that Gagliani had phoned me, I'd already
12:00spoken to Yassine Adli last summer when he moved to Florence from Milan and when I came
12:06here and once it became official he texted me two days ago, Adli said make me dream in
12:14a nice way but I'm happy about that because Yass is a top footballer and he's a lovely
12:19guy as well, really nice bloke, Bressi.
12:25Good afternoon, welcome along, I wanted to ask Riccardo, you can play almost everywhere
12:30in the forward line but what's your preference and for Wagen, Milan play with a double pivot
12:40but do you think you could play both as a holding midfielder and as a number eight?
12:47Thus far in my career I've played in several positions in the final third but typically
12:53I've played as a winger, as a left winger or a right winger, I've played on both flanks
13:00and I'm comfortable on either side so if they need me to play on the left I'll play on the
13:04left, if they need me to play on the right I'll play on the right, wherever the coach
13:07picks me I'm available for selection, I've got no issues in terms of which flank he picks.
13:22Whether I play as a deep line playmaker or as a number eight is not too much of an issue
13:28because at Nancy and Amonza I've played as a deep line playmaker in a two-man midfield,
13:32three-man midfield, I've played in both roles, I know the position well and I'm ready for
13:38the head coach and for the team as a whole.
13:42Good afternoon to both of you, a question for both, you would like to start with Riccardo
13:45Sottile, you've played a number of times against Milan and Raphael Liao who's a team-mate of
13:50yours but what could a player like him, what could you pinch from him in terms of his skill
13:55set and then I'll ask a question to Bondo.
14:00Raphael Liao is a phenomenal footballer, he's world-class, he's already shown that he's
14:04achieved great things here at Milan including in the Scudetto winning season when he did
14:09extraordinary things, you can learn a great deal from a hugely talented player like him,
14:18so his dribbling, his surge of pace, you try and watch him and try and pinch some of
14:22those details that make the difference so it's going to be wonderful to be able to speak
14:26to him, train alongside him and play alongside him as well.
14:30As for Warren, how are you physically, when can we see you playing for Milan?
14:38I got injured two weeks ago, I'm already fit, I have started running again, I've done a
14:43bit of ball work and we'll see with the doctor tomorrow for next week, we'll see maybe against
14:50Verona I should be able to play for that but we'll see what the doctor says.
14:56Good afternoon and welcome to Milan, Warren when you moved to Italy you were very young,
15:02you're still young now, it wasn't all very easy when you first came in, there are a number
15:09of tough times, how important was it for you to have an uncle in football and a family
15:16who was behind you?
15:18Yes, when I moved to Italy I didn't play immediately, for the first six months I didn't play and
15:27then I went to Reggiana, that was in Serie B and then I went back to Monza and I didn't
15:37play a great deal for the first six months of last season but up until January this year
15:43I've now played every game and so that was a very difficult time when I wasn't playing
15:50with both my family and my friends but I'm a young man who believes a great deal in God,
16:00my family is very religious as well and so I think it's a lovely story that when I came
16:06to Italy two years ago I was still a kid and two years on I'm now at a big club at
16:12Milan and four years ago when the deal didn't go through I said to my dad and to my uncle
16:22that there was no issue, that I would sign for Milan in the future and five years later
16:34I have now signed and I'm happy about that.
16:36Riccardo, I'd like to ask you, what are you really good at, dribbling, going for goal,
16:43looking for your teammates?
16:46You know that the head coach is going to ask you to defend a great deal as well?
16:52In modern football you need to be able to defend and attack equally well and even if
16:56you play as a winger, an attacking player, you need to track back and give a helping
17:01hand defensively.
17:05It's important that everyone does that if you are to win games so I'm ready to defend
17:09and attack very well.
17:15Good afternoon to both of you, I wanted to ask you, Milan, Zlatan Ibrahimovic is clearly
17:23someone to look towards, a senior and a senior player in the shape of Karl Walker, someone
17:29who has won everything.
17:30How important is he for you to have a teammate like that in the dressing room, out there
17:35on the pitch as well?
17:36It's hugely important, Walker is world class, he has won everything in his career as you
17:41said and seeing him come to the training ground, go straight into the gym and get down to work,
17:51you see him do that and so you immediately grab your shoes because if Walker is doing
17:56that then you need to do likewise, he's won everything and he's the real benchmark.
18:01You come in here and you see how much work goes into being a world class player and that's
18:05wonderful to see.
18:11I think Walker is a very good player, he's won the Champions League, he won a great deal
18:17at Manchester City, did well at Tottenham as well and Walker is an example.
18:23Just like other people, Mike Mignon, Youssef Fofana, everyone, I'm here to learn from them,
18:29to learn everything from them and I also want to make my own mark here at Milan.
18:39First for Warren, hi Ciao, welcome along, we spoke the other day before Monza against
18:47Verona, we didn't know yet about your move.
18:51You told us what Gagliani said, I also wanted to know what Alessandro Nesta said to you
18:57because I'm sure you've spoken to him since you heard about this move.
19:03Nesta really unlocked my potential this season.
19:14He said that, I'd really like to thank Nesta for everything, all of his advice and when
19:24I spoke to him once the deal was done, he immediately texted me and he said that's
19:31proper football there at Milan, it's not a joke, it's Milan, Milan are a top side and
19:41so he said playing for Milan, he knew I'd done well and he urged me to perform well
19:51for the club.
19:52Hi Riccardo, I wanted to ask you, talk to us about your dream come true yesterday, coming
20:04on yesterday, yeah, Jimenez, Liao, Joao Felix, etc.
20:10It was an amazing feeling because you came in the day before, then you train and then
20:15the following day you make your debut at San Siro and you come off the bench and the entire
20:22stadium is chanting your name, then that really is a dream come true, it's hugely motivating,
20:28it sends shivers down your spine, it motivates you to give everything you've got, that's
20:34something I dreamed about as a kid, I've now achieved it and now I'm here, I want to give
20:38the utmost, everything in my power to try and achieve everything I can for this club
20:42and fan base.
20:43Last question...
20:44Good afternoon, question for Riccardo, what do you think about the size of this club beginning
21:01with Milanello, the training ground for instance, and the players that have come through here?
21:11Here at Milanello you really live and breathe history, European Cups, players that have
21:18won the Ballon d'Or, you go round the training ground and you see people celebrating the
21:23Champions League victories, top class players, players that have won the Ballon d'Or as I've
21:27just mentioned, so it's exciting, it's an emotional experience because when you start
21:32playing football this is what you want to do, these are the players, the world class
21:38players that inspire you to get started in the first place, so it's fantastic to be here
21:46and I really am delighted, I'm delighted, thank you very much everyone, all the best.